From hiring leaders to launching programs, here are some of the ways payers are addressing health equity:
- Since March 2021, 11 payers — including Humana, Centene and Bright Health — have added health equity executives to their C-suite lineups.
- The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies released a paper in April calling on the healthcare system to develop and adopt national industry standards for demographic data collection to address health inequities.
- Centene's health equity improvement model was awarded the Innovation Award for Health Equity in March by the National Committee for Quality Assurance. The four-step model features a public health framework that integrates quantitative and qualitative data to help identify barriers and design initiatives across community, member and provider levels.
- Florida Blue in April donated $3.7 million to UF Health Jacksonville to establish a Center for Health Equity and Social Justice. The center's goals include developing practical training curriculum, tools and approaches that focus on people and the community. The center also will seek to educate communities on respecting differences and similarities.
- UnitedHealth Group announced in April it is investing $100 million to build affordable housing, starting in Georgia, North Carolina and Oregon, with additional locations to be named later.
- Independence Blue Cross said in March it is partnering with health systems and public entities in Philadelphia for a multiyear initiative called Accelerate Health Equity. The initiative aims to combat health disparities throughout Philadelphia County.
- Blue Shield of California in February launched the Maternal Child Health Equity initiative, which aims to address higher maternal mortality rates among mothers from underserved communities.